Help with purchasing a dew shield

[ilove1995]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Celestron Nexstar 4se. Fantastic little scope and looking forward to posting a review once I get to spend some quality time with it (cloudy nights not helping there!).

On the few occasions I've managed to use it I found that the scope dewed up fairly quickly so my next purchase will be a due shield. Trouble is I'm not sure what one to get. I know some people make their own but I'd prefer to purchase one to save time. I hear good things about Astrozap and have thought about getting the one on FLO's sight below but not sure if I should instead purchase a heated one.

Hoping some of the MAK users on here can offer some advise.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/astrozap-flexible-dew-shield.html

Many Thanks

Al

[wookie1965]

go to wilkinsons buy a camping mat or anywhere else cheap, they do the same job cut it to fit around your scope then use a good sticky tape and you have a dew shield.

[JamesF]

I have a standard AstroZap dew shield on my 127 Mak and it works ok, easy to take on and off and so on. I still do sometimes get dew on the corrector though, especially if the scope has been used for targets that are higher in the sky.

Were I to buy one, I'd be tempted to get a separate dew heater though. It's a hefty chunk of glass in the front of these Maks.

James

[Cornelius Varley]

If you wish to purchase a heated one remember it you will also need a power supply and a controller. The unheated should work well enough with your Nexstar4.

Peter

[ilove1995]

Will that be good enough to get some decent viewing time before the MAK dews up? If that's all it takes I'll happily do that but I'm concerned about how long this would work for considering how quickly my scope dewed up last time.

[ilove1995]

Hello again James,

Is your Astrozap shield the same one as from my link above?

Thanks

Al

[JamesF]

Hello again James,

Is your Astrozap shield the same one as from my link above?

I believe so. It certainly looks very similar (I didn't buy it -- I bought the scope second-hand and it came with it).

Cut-down camping mat will work just as well to be honest and it's what I'd have done if I didn't already have one (and what I will do for my dob). As the saying goes in the DIY section, "No-one will see what it looks like in the dark"

James

[paul schofield]

You have a choice to buy ready made or make your own, depending on the type you want really. I am currently making my own. The forum sponsor sells a large selection of dew shields. Don't know if there is a ready made one for your scope (probably is) The ready made Astrozap dew shields start at £20 from FLO.

[ilove1995]

Thanks all, I think I'll make my own and save some money.

James, changing the subject completely I nearly purchased the 127 skymax based on your advice. I think the 4se will last me a good while but I think I have the option to upgrade the OTA to a 5" Mak like the skymax at some point in the future. I presume I can do this as the nester 4se mount is also the same mount used by the 5se and all these scopes I believe use the same standard vixen style mounting plate?

[JamesF]

I believe that is the case, yes, though I'm not that familiar with 102 or how Celestron set it up.

James

[ilove1995]

Nice to know that could be an option for me in the future without having to upgrade the mount as well.

[nightfisher]

I prefer home made dew shields on maks as they are better if a bit longer than shop bought ones, i recently made a dew shield for a 102 mak using a plastic art folder, some sticky flocking and some sticky carbon effect vinyl wrap, i like the dew shield to be about the same length as the ota, my 180 pro never seems to dew up

[Novarius]

How easy is it to make a battery powered Dew Shield? Looked at plans but they make no sense (the closest I come to electrics is plugging a plug in, occasional rewiring but that's it). I'm not spending £20+ on a piece of plastic, this hobby is already expensive enough as it is.

Or would it be easier to make a standard Dew shield and take a hair dryer out in the field to remove Dew as and when needed?

[JamesF]

I prefer home made dew shields on maks as they are better if a bit longer than shop bought ones, i recently made a dew shield for a 102 mak using a plastic art folder, some sticky flocking and some sticky carbon effect vinyl wrap, i like the dew shield to be about the same length as the ota, my 180 pro never seems to dew up

I might try out a longer one for mine then. Has to be worth a go.

James

[ilove1995]

Does seem a bit expensive paying £20 for something that can be made out of an old camping mattress.

[great_bear]

I know that (for some reason) people never want to hear this, but at Kelling Heath a couple of years ago I went to the gift shop and bought one of those pretty silver-foil decorative gift bags and some Selotape and made a dew shield for my Mak 180.

It has remained my trusty dew shield even under the most extreme conditions - and I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would need anything more.

[wookie1965]

camping mat in Tesco just checked £4.88 cant do better than that you can make a couple of dew shields out of one mat.

[Ronnie67]

I went a little further, I had a large piece of cardboard, I measured it against my Nexstar 4se and cut it out, I used a couple of permanent black markers and colored it in, a bit of sticky take and hey presto a dew shield which I can take off and on, used it for some time now and it works great

[JamesF]

Regarding length, I've just had a quick check of the AstroZap shield for the 127 Mak. When fitted it protrudes about half the length of the OTA in front of the corrector lens.

James

[wookie1965]

I have read that dew shield should be 1.5x the aperture or your scope the longer the better as long as it doesn't sag and not that big that wind catches it.

[Lenny147]

I bought one off FLO as I couldn't be bothered to make my own

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ronnie67]

mine is roughly over .5, prob .7, but if it does a good job, I doubt you have to go to that length

[ionflux]

Made mine from a £6.00 black Lonsdale fitness mat from the SportsDirect.com shop (60x180cm)...it comes fabric covered and edged, so reduces light bounce and is fairly rigid. It's secured to the scope with a couple of velcro strips that my wife kindly sewed through.